South Korea industrial output slumps, retail sales rebound

SOUTH Korea’s industrial output fell sharply in February while retail sales rebounded strongly from a loss in January, data showed on Friday (Mar 31), underscoring an uneven recovery for the trade-reliant economy.

The industrial output index fell 3.2 per cent in February on the month after a 2.4 per cent gain in January, whereas the retail sales index jumped 5.3 per cent last month after a 1.1 per cent drop in January, the Statistics Korea data showed.

The sluggish factory output in February was led by semiconductors and automobiles, with production dropping 17.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, more than offsetting gains in chemicals and industrial machinery, the data showed.

The data comes as some economists predict Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which relies more on exports for growth than on domestic consumption, will fall into recession in the current quarter. REUTERS